Twelve students pursuing master's degrees at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) have been awarded prestigious national fellowships.

Ten SNRE students were selected in a competitive process to be named 2007-2009 Doris Duke Conservation Fellows. Two others were selected 2007-2009 Wyss Conservation Scholars. The fellowships recognize all 12 as future leaders in nonprofit and public sector conservation, with Wyss Scholars committed specifically to work on Western land conservation issues.

The students will be recognized at a special dinner Friday, March 28, at the Michigan League. Keynote speakers for the event are two SNRE alumni: Sara Barth, regional director for California and Nevada for The Wilderness Society; and Mark Zankel, deputy state director, The Nature Conservancy, New Hampshire.

The School of Natural Resources and Environment, as one of eight host universities under the Duke program, normally recommends five candidates from its student body to be awarded the fellowships. But this year, the school recommended additional candidates to compete against students from other schools for discretionary funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. As a result, all 10 candidates advanced by SNRE this year - both the original five and the additional candidates - were awarded fellowships. The University of Michigan will have the largest number of fellows of any participating university.

"The selection of so many of our students is an extraordinary outcome that results directly from the outstanding qualities of our students," said Steven L. Yaffee, the Theodore Roosevelt Professor of Ecosystem Management and professor of Natural Resource & Environmental Policy at SNRE. Professor Yaffee also directs the school's Ecosystem Management Initiative.

The Doris Duke Conservation Fellows and their fields of study are: Becca Brooke (Environmental Policy and Planning); Erin Carey (Environmental Justice); Rachel Chadderdon (Behavior, Education and Communication); Andrew Fotinos (Environmental Policy and Planning); Aviva Glaser (Conservation Biology); Jose Gonzalez (Behavior, Education and Communication); Kristen Johnson (Environmental Policy and Planning); Brad Kinder (Environmental Policy and Planning); Lauren Lesch (Landscape Architecture); and Diane Sherman (Environmental Policy and Planning). Sherman is a dual-degree student through SNRE's program with the College of Law at the University of Michigan.

The Environment Program of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation created the Doris Duke Conservation Fellowship program in 1997 to identify and support future conservation leaders. The fellowship supports students enrolled in multidisciplinary master's programs at partner universities who are committed to careers as practicing conservationists. A distinguished national advisory committee oversaw the invitation-only university competition.

The 2007-2009 Wyss Scholars are Heath Nero and Liz Nysson. Both are studying Environmental Planning and Policy.

The Wyss Scholars Program for the Conservation of the American West was designed to identify and nurture a generation of leaders on Western land conservation issues. Since its inception, the program took applications only from students at the University of Montana and Yale University. In a desire to broaden its reach, program leaders visited SNRE and met with faculty and students, and subsequently decided to include the University of Michigan.

The program is administered by the Wyss Foundation. Fellows are selected by participating universities during the first year of their master's program and are selected based on dedication, need and merit.

The Wyss Scholars Program offers financial support for tuition, plus a stipend for a summer internship working on western land conservation for either a non-profit organization or a government agency. Successful graduates may also receive an award for student loan repayment if they are employed at a federal, state or tribal agency or nonprofit organization working for improved land conservation in Eastern Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, or Colorado following graduation.

About the School of Natural Resources and Environment:
The School of Natural Resources and Environment's overarching objective is to contribute to the protection of the earth's resources and the achievement of a sustainable society. Through research, teaching, and outreach, faculty, staff, and students are devoted to generating knowledge and developing policies, techniques and skills to help practitioners manage and conserve natural and environmental resources to meet the full range of human needs on a sustainable basis.

Related links:
Wyss Scholars Program for the Conservation of the American West
http://www.wyssfoundation.org/Scholars.htm
The Doris Duke Conservation Fellows Program
http://www.woodrow.org/DorisDuke/

Contact:
Kevin Merrill
734.936.2447
merrillk@umich.edu